Dr Katherine Bridge

Kay Kendall Leukaemia Fund Intermediate Fellow

Developing an independent research programme

I am a cancer cell biologist studying the role of hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) in blood stem cells and blood cancers. As a post-doc at Barts Cancer Institute in London, I was working on the molecular mechanisms regulating HIF in lung cancers. Despite the power of this model system to characterise oncogenic HIF function in these tumours, it could not explain how and why HIF activation in other contexts (e.g. clear cell renal cell carcinoma) was tumour suppressive. I was limited by an inability to define the multiple roles of HIF within a single system. This prompted my move to the haematopoietic system where single cell assays for normal and malignant stem cells with defined fate choice outcomes have been robustly established. The York Biomedical Research Institute at the University of York offered me a unique combination of cellular and molecular tools to underpin the development of a novel system for studying HIF biology. Collaborating with established experts in the field of haematological malignancies - Professor Ian Hitchcock and Dr David Kent - facilitated my transition from solid cancers to blood cancers, and created a research niche within which to address these fundamental biological questions.

Springboard funding – Centre for Future Health Fellowship

I applied to the Centre for Future Health fellowship scheme in order to relocate to York and develop this system and my independent research programme, sponsored by Professor Ian Hitchcock. This ‘springboard’ fellowship position gave me the resources, lab space and support I needed to perform preliminary experiments to test and build my hypothesis. As a result of this, I was able to apply for external fellowship funding as an independent researcher and was awarded a Kay Kendall Leukaemia Fund Intermediate Fellowship in 2020. This award will enable me to establish my group and fund my research for the next 4 years; I also received a measure of matched funding from the Department of Biology as a result of this award.

The right environment to thrive

The CFH fellowship also enabled me to establish a number of additional collaborations and projects both with colleagues within the department and external industrial partners, which would not have been possible had I not been based at York whilst applying for external fellowships. I have found the Department of Biology at York to be an incredibly collegiate environment, and have felt really well supported both academically and pastorally as I transitioned to independence as a scientist.

University of York has proven to be the ideal environment within which to initiate my independent research programme, and continuing in this environment will enable me to establish and grow a successful laboratory group to define context-dependent HIF activity in HSPCs.